Tunisia is considered a pioneer nation in women’s empowerment in the Arab world.
However, a recent study has revealed that only 37 percent of the 630,000 civil servants in the country are women.
This has prompted calls for more inclusion of women into prestigious position in public and private sector.
The study revealed some deep seated conservative tendencies that hinder women’s growth, especially in holding of decision-making positions- both in public and private sector.
“The percentage of women who hold the position of executive director is 25%. So the remaining 75% are men. And we are working on improving this percentage to improve women’s access to decision-making positions,” Survey coordinator Khaoula Labidi said.
The study which was funded by the French government exposes gender based prejudices in the hiring and promotion of women to plum positions.
The silent but deep divide between conservatives and social liberals is being blamed for the existence of this gender prejudice, a fact that the Women’s Affairs Minister acknowledges.
“We must do everything we can to get women into decision-making positions. And that is why we have put a number of plans in place to enable women by 2020 at the latest to be truly equal to men in decision-making positions. The legislative side is important but we must now implement the plan,” Minister of Women’s Affairs Naziha Labidi.
The North African country’s parliament in the summer passed a law banning violence against women, but will still need to do so much more to ensure its implementation.
